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What brain surgery costs in Hyderabad, and what moves the figure | CION Cancer Clinics
A craniotomy has no single price in Hyderabad. The bill moves with why the operation is done, how long it takes, how many nights you spend in the ICU and the ward, and which room you choose. Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS, EHS and cashless insurance usually change the out-of-pocket figure a great deal. This page shows how the bill is built and how to get a written estimate for your own case. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Muralidhar MuddusettyConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery, AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- What does a craniotomy cost in Hyderabad?
- Which kind of craniotomy sits in which cost band?
- What makes up the bill for brain surgery?
- What is usually in the package, and what is often extra?
- How do you get a real estimate for your own operation?
- Why can the final bill differ from the estimate?
- What do families wrongly believe about brain surgery costs?
- Common questions about craniotomy cost in Hyderabad
The short answer
What does a craniotomy cost in Hyderabad?
There is no single price for brain surgery. The bill depends on why the operation is done, how long it takes, how many nights you spend in the ICU and the ward, and what cover you have. Two people with a brain tumour can pay very different amounts.
Who pays the sticker figure, and who does not
Most families in Telangana do not pay the full listed amount. An Aarogyasri card, a CGHS, ECHS or EHS entitlement, or a cashless health policy often covers a large part of a planned craniotomy. What you pay is usually the gap between what the scheme or policy allows and what the hospital bills.
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you what your own operation will cost. Only a centre that has seen your MRI, your reports and your fitness tests can do that. It also cannot tell you whether surgery is the right choice for you. That decision belongs to your treating team.
Every band on this page is indicative for 2026. Ask for an itemised written estimate before admission.Indicative cost
Which kind of craniotomy sits in which cost band?
Relative bands, not quotes. Where yours falls depends on the plan your neurosurgeon makes and on your cover.
Lower band
Planned surgery with a short stay
A tumour that is easy to reach, a short ICU stay and a smooth recovery on the ward.
Middle band
Longer or more complex surgery
A deep tumour, longer theatre time, extra imaging or monitoring during the operation, or more days in the ICU.
Higher band
Emergency or complicated course
Surgery for bleeding or high pressure in the brain, a second operation, infection, or a long stay with rehabilitation.
Indicative only, for 2026. Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS and EHS are accepted, and most cashless insurers are empanelled. In those cases your out-of-pocket cost is usually very different from the sticker figure. Call the helpline for an estimate against your own cover.
How the bill is built
What makes up the bill for brain surgery?
Ask for each of these to be listed separately. It is the only way to compare one estimate with another.
The operation
Surgeon and anaesthetist fees, theatre time, and the plates and screws that fix the bone back in place.
Can add to it
- Navigation or monitoring in theatre
- A graft to close the brain lining
ICU and ward stay
Brain surgery usually needs close watching in an ICU or high dependency unit first. Each extra night there costs far more than a ward bed.
Tests and scans
Blood tests, heart and lung checks before surgery, and an MRI or CT after it to see what was removed.
Pathology
The tissue removed is examined under a microscope. Extra tests on the tumour, such as molecular markers, can add a separate charge.
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What is usually in the package, and what is often extra?
Usually in the package
Often charged separately
Operation, theatre and anaesthesia
Special equipment used during surgery
A set number of ICU and ward days
Extra days beyond that number
Routine medicines and dressings
Costly injections and blood products
Standard pathology report
Extra tumour marker tests
General ward bed
A single or deluxe room
Before you decide
How do you get a real estimate for your own operation?
Gather the reports
The MRI or CT scan with its report, any biopsy report, blood tests, and your Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS or EHS card or insurance policy. A photo of each on your phone is enough to start.
Ask for an itemised estimate
Ask the billing desk to list the operation, ICU days, ward days, tests and pathology separately, and say which room it assumes. Ask what changes if the ICU stay runs longer.
Check it against your cover
The scheme or insurance desk can tell you what your card or policy allows for this operation, and what the likely gap is. Get that in writing too.
Ask what comes after
Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, rehabilitation and follow-up scans are often needed after brain tumour surgery. They are billed separately, so ask the team what is likely for you.
Why estimates change
Why can the final bill differ from the estimate?
An estimate is made before anyone knows exactly how the operation and the recovery will go. Brain surgery is less predictable than many other operations, so it helps to ask early what could change.
Recovery takes longer than planned
Swelling in the brain, drowsiness, a fit or an infection can keep you in the ICU or the ward for longer. Weakness on one side may mean physiotherapy before discharge. Each of these adds days, and days are the biggest single driver of the bill.
A second procedure is needed
Occasionally a patient needs a return to theatre, a drain for fluid building up in the brain, or a repair of a leak. Ask how these are billed under your package or scheme.
The plan changes during surgery
The surgeon may find the tumour is more spread out, or closer to vital areas, than the scan showed. Ask how the hospital handles changes to the approval with your insurer or scheme.
Do not delay surgery that your team says is urgent while you compare estimates. Ask the scheme desk to start the approval at the same time.Commonly believed
What do families wrongly believe about brain surgery costs?
"The most expensive hospital does the safest surgery."
Price is not a measure of skill. Ask how often the team operates on brain tumours, who looks after you in the ICU, and how complications are handled.
"Aarogyasri does not cover brain operations."
Brain tumour surgery is included in the scheme at empanelled hospitals for eligible families. Ask the Aarogyamithra at the help desk before you plan to pay privately.
"The quoted package is the final bill."
A package covers an expected course. Extra ICU days, costly medicines or a room upgrade can add to it. Ask what is outside the package before admission.
"Once the operation is paid for, treatment is over."
Many brain tumours need radiotherapy or chemotherapy afterwards, plus scans for years. Ask about these costs, and what your cover allows, before you begin.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about craniotomy cost in Hyderabad
Why can't the hospital give me one fixed price?
Because the cost depends on the tumour, how long the operation takes and how you recover. The ICU stay in particular is hard to predict. A good estimate lists each part of the bill and says clearly what could change it, rather than giving one figure.
Does health insurance cover a craniotomy?
Most health policies cover brain surgery that is medically needed, often cashless at network hospitals. Check the room rent limit, co-payment and any waiting period in your policy. The insurance desk can request pre-authorisation once the surgeon has made a plan.
Is an awake craniotomy more expensive?
It can be, because it needs extra planning, a specialised anaesthesia team and brain monitoring in theatre. It is only used for certain tumours near speech or movement areas. Ask your neurosurgeon whether it applies to you, and ask the billing desk how it changes the estimate.
Are CGHS, ECHS and EHS accepted for brain surgery?
Yes, at hospitals empanelled under each scheme. Each has its own referral and approval steps. Bring your card, referral letter and reports to the scheme desk early, so approval does not hold up a planned date.
What costs come after I go home?
Medicines such as anti-seizure tablets, follow-up visits, scans, physiotherapy and travel from your district. If the tumour needs radiotherapy or chemotherapy, those are separate. Ask the team for a rough picture of the months ahead, not only the operation.
Is a biopsy through a small hole cheaper than a craniotomy?
A needle biopsy is usually a smaller procedure with a shorter stay. But it only takes a sample and does not remove the tumour. Which one you need is a medical decision. Your team weighs the tumour's size, position and your health.
Can we get a second opinion on the estimate?
Yes. Take the same scans and reports to another centre and ask for an itemised estimate for the same plan. Compare the parts, not only the total. Keep in mind that urgent surgery should not be put off while you do this.
What if we cannot afford the gap?
Tell the hospital early. Ask whether you are eligible for Aarogyasri or another government scheme, and whether the social work or scheme desk can guide you to charitable support. Do not stop treatment quietly because of cost without speaking to the team.
What moves the figure
What affects the cost
Four things change the total more than anything else.
The technique used
A shaped or image-guided delivery costs more than a conventional one, and is chosen on clinical grounds rather than preference.
How many sessions
The total is driven by the number of sittings or cycles, not by a single per-visit figure.
Supporting tests
Scans, blood work and pathology done alongside treatment are billed separately.
Your cover
Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS, EHS or cashless insurance usually change the out-of-pocket figure substantially.
Paying for it
Insurance, schemes and payment
What you actually pay usually differs a great deal from the sticker figure.
AarogyasriEmpanelled. Bring the card and a referral where you have one.
CGHS / ECHS / EHSAccepted at CION centres for eligible treatment.
Cashless insuranceMost major insurers are empanelled. Pre-authorisation is handled by our desk.
Self-payItemised estimate given before treatment starts. No EMI scheme exists.
Accreditation and empanelment
- NABH
- NABL
- ISO 9001:2015
- ArogyaSri empanelled
- CGHS accepted
- ECHS accepted
- EHS accepted
- Major cashless insurers
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Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
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MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
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Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
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Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
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Dr. Vinay Mamidala
MBBS, MS(General Surgery), M.Ch(Surgical Oncology), FMAS, FARIS(Ongoing)
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Dr. Vajja Sandeep Kumar
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), DrNB (Surgical Oncology), FALS Oncology
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Where to find us
Our centres in and around Hyderabad
Addressed by landmark, because that is how this city navigates. A surgical consultation can be booked at any of these centres through one helpline, and your team will tell you where the operation itself takes place.
Warangal
Vizag
Sources
- NHS — Craniotomy
- Cancer Research UK — Brain tumours
- American Cancer Society — The Cost of Cancer Treatment
- Cancer.Net — Financial Considerations
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Craniotomy Under AarogyasriWhat the scheme covers and how approval worksCost, Insurance and Schemes for Cancer SurgeryHow packages, approvals and claims work across operationsICU and the First Days After SurgeryThe part of the stay that moves the bill mostCraniotomyThe operation explained from the start
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Want an estimate against your own card or policy?
Send us the MRI report and tell us what cover you have. The scheme and insurance desk will tell you what it allows and what the likely gap is. One helpline serves every CION centre.